All too familiar is the current economic crisis of the nation, but more directly affecting California’s students, is the state-wide budget catastrophe. Receiving an education in California has become far too difficult and it remains a mystery as to how the state will climb out of debt.

Another protest was held at Balboa Park on Oct. 29, voicing concerns about the ongoing budget crisis plaguing California schools. The continuous understaffing of administration and shortage of resources is due to the severe lack of financial support for the public education system.

Many spoke at the rally, one of them being City College President Terry Burgess, who gave relevant examples of how students are heavily impacted by the poor choices of the state. Students are directly impacted by the number of courses being cut. Last semester 20,000 students had to waitlist and approximately 10,000 of those students did not get one requested class.

Burgess emphasized immediate action must be taken to end the state’s overall reliance on personal income taxes as a source of profit.

Both Burgess and Jim Miller, organizer of the rally and a professor at City College, emphasize the irrationality of the state’s rising percentage of spending on California prisons compared to its decline in spending on public schools in the last 20 years.

Labor Council member Lorena Gonzalez, another passionate speaker, pumped up students with an important message.

“We need a revolution! This revolution has to happen at the hands of our students,” which was followed by enthusiastic chants of “Si Se Puede.”

Jim Miller, Political Action Vice President and member of the American Federation of Teachers, emphasized that it will be a long journey to get satisfying results for the current educational dilemma.

“It’s important in a consistent way to show people are unhappy.this is our way of trying to shape the message,” said Miller.

Many believe Proposition AB 656, an oil service tax to give California colleges up to $1 billion a year, to be the solution. However a two-thirds vote is required which has, thus far, failed to pass through state legislature. Many were protesting with the hope of eliminating the minimum vote.

Disabled students are another significant majority being massively affected by budget cuts with nearly 40 to 60 percent of services being eliminated.

Bringing Education and Activism Together (BEAT) member and City College Student, Jose Rodriguez, spoke at the rally, enforcing that everything we need to succeed is bound to be cut. He also drew attention to the dramatic decline of available summer school classes prolonging student graduations.

Professor Gregg Robinson, of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca College District, is furious at what is happening to schools throughout California. He exemplified the UC and CSU systems, stating that shutting doors to community college students and accepting more out-of-state students than ever before is not helping matters.

“Agitate, sit-in, picket, and keep protesting!” encouraged Robinson.

Protestors then marched from Balboa Park to the State of California building in downtown San Diego, chanting phrases such as “Save the schools, tax the rich,” and “This is what democracy looks like.”

Participants began a sit-in on the street as many more wrote messages on the asphalt with chalk. All the while, opinions were avidly voiced to the corporate heads just floors above.

No one from the building came down despite numerous invitations from protestors. At approximately 5 p.m., employees of the building left through a back exit to avoid protestors.

“We will continually push this; it’s going to be a long battle,” said Miller.